One more thing I'd add to the mix. If you're a semi-unfortunate ex govt contractor/employee like me and your name was on the big OPM data breach list, then you also get to sign up for free credit monitoring. It was eye opening to see all the accounts I've opened and closed over the years. And also interesting to note some of the erroneous data some of them had. Good stuff to know (and get them to correct).

Fatheroffour wrote:My mortgage broker laughed at the Vantage 3.0 score. Said to forget about it.

Reading the CK forums, most seemed to complain that the new scoring system showed their score as significantly less that their true FICO score. My CK Vantage score was about 35 points higher than FICO.

There is no correlation between the scores.

That's whats so messed up. Now you have to shop loans by the way they score or run the risk o f paying a higher % or losing all together. Hate Credit scores.

Credit is one of my hobbies so I throughly monitor my reports and am always watching my scores. CK is usually on the money when it comes to Equifax (EQ) and TransUnion (TU) reports.

There are a number of ways to receive free real FICO scores. The Walmart credit card provides free TU scores around the 10th of each month. Discover now provides Experian (EX) scores to people that don't have their credit card (https://creditscorecard.com). Barclay provides TU scores to their cardholders every 2 months. A lot of banks provide scores. For example, Digital Credit Union (DCU - great bank to work with) provides EQ scores on the last Friday of each month. This is the EQ04 version. 08 is the newest version but some lenders like them use the 04. If you want to pay for your report and also receive your score, myFICO (https://www.myfico.com) is a good place to do that. That website has a very good forum that is a treasure trove of knowledge. There are a lot of very helpful people there and topics cover most things that are credit related. I've learned a lot there over the years.

Personal loan sites like lendingtree.com, creditkarma.com, creditsesame.com, nerdwallet.com, mint.com pass your info to many lenders so you have a better chance of finding one who will underwrite you even if your FICO isn't great. Some lenders are starting to look at data like rent and utility payments to underwrite consumers who have thin credit files.

Also, the government-mandated site for free credit reports is http://www.AnnualCreditReport.com. Or you can get the credit karma app and have your TU and EQ credit reports updated weekly on your phone.

I have actually lost track of how many free trackers and free identity theft services on top of my Lifelock. I think I am privy to being involved in no less than meh 5-10 breaches where I was notified. Luckily still no bad ju ju other than the first Ex trying some crap with my credit years ago.

And for those of you still using your debit card everywhere; DONT!

"No." is a complete sentence. Do not move out of your house. What are you grateful for?

As far as a debit card I don't trust them. I have never owned one. My ATM cards are ATM cards only. Having an ATM card only also helps one curb spending a little. If you want something, there is an extra step to obtaining it and if you don't charge much like I don't, your extra step is you have to stop at an ATM to get the cash first. Debit cards are not safe at all....only a convenience for the lazy society that we've become.

I use credit karma, credit sesame and wallet hub. I get my FICO from Citi. I also pull my full reports once a year. I watch my credit and accounts like a hawk. My ex did some serious damage so now I'm on the war path to rebuild.

Of them all I like credit karma best. The actual scores are on average 70 points lower than what they actually are. I primarily use them to monitor everything else, it's like a dashboard of what you got going on financially. That in itself is extremely valuable.

the funniest thing about this particular signature is that by the time you realize it doesn't say anything it's to late to stop reading it

I try not to use the debit card and when at a gas station or convenience store ATM only use credit card.

USAA is VERY good at reversing fraudulent charges and will literally go burn down the opposing partys house to get your money in an accident claim on the insurance side of the house.

I know a few companies have lower premium rates too but if you have any former military in your family (parents grandparents spouses etc) it's worth the time to check if you are elgible to get their services.

It's pretty common sense that with the debit card your whole bank account tied to that card could be emptied out fraudulently whereas credit is a different story and can be reversed much easier than dollars reclaimed. Just saying. ..

Last edited by Havalu7 on Fri Jun 30, 2017 9:55 am, edited 2 times in total.

"No." is a complete sentence. Do not move out of your house. What are you grateful for?

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